Obituary: Graham Wright

A Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Graham Wright was held at Lincoln Crematorium.

Born to Welsh parents - mum one of seven siblings and dad one of 10 - in Bootle, Lancashire on 14 July 1935 – the only child.

Graham spent his childhood in North Wales, educated locally before taking his place at Sandhurst in 1953 when he joined the Duke of Lancaster Regiment, following the amalgamation of regiments.

He served on his first commission with the Sultan of Oman troops Nairobi before returning to the UK in 1960 on leave, where he resigned that commission and joined the “BEREK” batteries where he served from 1961-1967.

His wife to be Jane was out in Nairobi with her parents and brother when she met Graham at a party in 1960.

Their courtship carried on and they were married in Kenya in 1964.

Graham was transferred to Nigeria in 1966, then back to Nairobi where their first child Vaughan was born.

Graham was transferred back to the UK, with Jane following when their son was 8 weeks old.

It was there that Graham joined Goodyear Tyres – Industrial Rubber Products.

They lived in Kent from 1968 to 1971, where their daughter Linda was born in 1969.

In 1971, they were transferred to Northern Ireland; Greece in 1977 and back to Kenya in 1980.

Fortunately, they had purchased a property in Cambridgeshire in 1984, as a bolt hole and so this was home for Graham and the children till Jane was in a position to return to the UK.

Graham retired in 2001 and finally moved to Wragby where they set up their home and became part of the local community. The couple both worked hard for the British Legion Poppy Appeal, with Graham being the secretary, branch welfare officer and the treasurer.

They both were dedicated members of the local Voluntary Car Divers Service in Wragby, and Graham enjoyed playing dominoes, darts and whist, as well as being an avid supporter of Wales and Liverpool football.

His health began to fail in 2009 and for the following years he continued to do as much as he could, till sadly he lost the battle in December 2014.

Graham is now survived by his wife Jane Wright, son Vaughan Wright, daughter Linda Wright and granddaughter Emily Wright.

The Service at the Crematorium was conducted by the Rev Cannon Alan Robson, which included a poem beautifully read by Emily for “Taid” her grandfather.